Microsoft’s Moves In Atlanta Show How Much Has Changed For Big Tech After HQ2

CoStar Group has become a $32B commercial real estate data giant in large part through acquisitions, but that strategy has started to hit some obstacles.

Over the last three months, CoStar has had two rare examples of high-profile acquisition pursuits falling through. One of the deals, its agreed-upon acquisition of RentPath, was blocked by a federal government antitrust lawsuit, while the second acquisition target, CoreLogic, publicly turned down CoStar’s $6.9B offer.

The failure to complete these acquisitions not only cost CoStar the time and money it spent working on the deals, it has exposed potential risks in its plan to grow, for which it has set aside billions to make new acquisitions.

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In Case You Missed It...

One year ago, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, and office workers across the United States and United Kingdom went exiled to home offices. Now, as vaccines get distributed and cases begin to decline, three states — Texas, Mississippi and Wyoming — are fully reopening and dropping mask mandates. It is…

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One of the great paradoxes of the coronavirus pandemic is that while the home-tied public might appreciate more than ever the social power of place, there is no way of knowing how people will actually behave once the global crisis fades away. 

That dynamic will be studied and hotly debated for years ahead, but one thing that cannot be argued is that some segments of the commercial real estate industry are prevailing in one key area: innovation.

Since March 11, 2020, when the pandemic took hold of the world, commercial real estate has been in the throes of massive socioeconomic upheaval. While some quarters are betting that things will go back to normal, others are adopting and inventing new ways to thrive, preparing for new orders of how to conduct business and making good on promises to evolve technologically, socially and culturally. 

If these men and women have been frightened by the turbulence of the last year, their actions are not evidence of it. They are persevering and building a new future — unwilling to let the opportunity created by the crisis pass them by. At Bisnow, we're pleased to introduce you to these innovators and celebrate their achievements made through unprecedented adversity.

See the Q&As with every innovator Bisnow has interviewed so far here.

This series delves into the myriad ways people enter the commercial real estate industry and what contributes to their success.

Jeremy Brutus had every intention of becoming a lawyer, but a lifeguarding gig drew him into real estate, and he dropped his LSAT study books and dove right in. 

He first dipped his toes into real estate while lifeguarding at the Peninsula Hotel in New York and seeing what amenities and service did for customer experiences. He branched into other hospitality roles, and serving as head of amenities for Jack Parker Corp., overseeing rebranding and redesign of residential buildings, clinched his love for the broader CRE industry. 

Now Brutus helps run URBN Playground, an amenity management and consultancy firm he co-founded with Amy Blitz in 2016.

Read the full story here.